SwedeLundin77

"One day, we might be able to bring a player of significance here."

Erm...we have 16 million in cap space.  We're a legendary team.  We should be able to bring a player of significance here this summer, not in the distant future.  

I really wish he wouldn't say he's content with our roster up front.  Yeah, it's servicable, no worse than last year, but last year wasn't good enough.  I guess I can see him waiting to see if Brunner will make an impact, but that's risky.

But he seems to forget that Quincey did play last year.  So we've only added Smith, a rookie, to replace Stuart and Lidstrom.

Who is your player of significance?  Semin and Doan are the only two big names left and it seems like Detroit is not the only team wary of Semin's questionable work ethic and moodiness, otherwise he would have been signed by now by someone.   We are looking at Doan and his agent has said that he would be interested if the Phoenix situation is unresolved come July 16...

What is he supposed to say?  "We don't like our roster up-front."  No, you don't say that as a GM.  He added some pieces, replaced Hudler, and gave us some bottom 6 depth.  We have too many forwards so there may be a trade upcoming for defense, but we'll see.  He's not done yet and there is a long way to go before the season starts.

Uh, no, that's not what he said. He never said "fill", he specifically said "replace", as in these guys will replace Stuart and Lidstrom. Not sure how you can read it any other way...




How exactly are we risking our money if it's not being allocated to anything else...? If it's essentially, just sitting there? Don't risk some money on a previous 40 goal scorer for a team in need of scoring depth? Just don't understand your argument...

And then you say we WILL make the playoffs and WILL compete? You come to that consensus based on......what exactly? Do you not realize this is now a team MUCH weaker than the one that was first to get eliminated and won a single game last season? And yet, somehow, you think with a weaker roster we'll somehow do.....better?


Am i missing something here? I just dont understand the logic!

Seriously.... I even posted the quote.  How is it that you are the ONLY one reading it that way then?  Is it because you are being over-critical, possibly even negative about an off-season when it's only July 12 and there are zero quality UFA's to be had, aside from Semin and Doan (and they want Doan).

There is no way to replace Lidstrom.... and losing him is how we got weaker.  Our offense is stronger than last season, and deeper.  We may not have acquired a sniper, but Brunner may turn out, I'm willing to wait and see before I write him off like so many doom and gloomers around here.  Our defense is younger, much younger.  Which I believe is a good thing, because they're hungry, and motivated and want to win.  Only Kronwall has tasted the cup and he's their leader as of right now.  Seems pretty good to me.  I never said they're stronger than last season, but they are younger overall, and with so many negative people out there, maybe it's a good motivation to show fans that they can do well and compete.  

They will spend more cap on defensive needs, possibly a forward like Semin or Doan if they can come to an agreement, but to just burn our money by grabbing average players that don't add anything to the team is asinine.  It's also asinine to assume we know what is really going on behind the curtain.  

You don't burn cap because the trade deadline could come in handy for the Wings this season, and trading for a big name player who makes more money means you had better have a little cap space, if the opportunity presents itself.  Also saving that cap space could be fruitful come next off-season, when Perry, Getzlaf, Iginla, etc... could all be available.

Well, it is tough to face the fact that we are not a contender.... I took it for granted for 19 years that I followed the Red Wings. Any advices?

You cannot say that anymore....  LA was an 8 seed last season and no one thought they'd make it anywhere...  NJ was, what? a 6 seed?  That was your Final this past season.... low seeded teams that no one would have ever predicted being there.  We are a contender, plain and simple.

And yet in the past four years we have made it to the finals, and never missed the playoffs. I believe Holland is thinking long term - by not overpaying in FA he is ensuring he can put a competitive playoff team on the ice year after year. As we seen with LA... adding a key piece at the end of the season  (or any number of other factors) can propel a team to the cup... so long as they make the playoffs of course. Yandle / Ryan / Nash are likely too expensive in trade assets - and he's not going to give the farm. We know Holland has made an offer for Nash, and may have for Yandle and Ryan for all we know. Now sure what you want him to do right now, besides overpay in trade assets.

Thank you sir, for your comments are sane and level-headed.  It's nice to know that I am not alone.

Disappointing to say the least. Here's some highlights from a couple morning articles. Don't expect any new Red Wings anytime soon folks!

http://www.detroitne...207120392/1128/

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Basically, SOMEDAY we'll get a good player.....

Detroit Red Wings, your 2015 Stanley Cup Champions!!

http://www.mlive.com...holland_st.html

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Yes Holland, you're right. It's not like we have any kind of scoring problem and desperately need a top 6 forward, despite the fact that we scored an average of 1.8 goals per game during the playoffs AND our own coach said we lost due to weakness in scoring potential for our 2nd and 3rd lines. Sure Holland, all is fine.

And yeah, saying Smith and Quincey will replace Lidstrom and Stuart, respectively, is in it's own level of idiocy alone.



Enjoy your summer folks.

Good God, that is not what he even said....  Stop twisting things to make it sound the way you want it to.  He said they have guys that can fill in, so it's not like they are down to 4 defensemen.

"

Obviously, with the loss of (Brad) Stuart, the loss of (Nick) Lidstrom, we're not as deep as we've been in the past in defense. Two players that are going to replace him that weren't here (last year) are Brendan Smith and (Kyle) Quincey, so it's not like we've lost two guys and don't have any players."

Please don't just make everything fit your doom and gloom attitude...

Look, Holland is being smart here.  He tried his best to get both Parise and Suter, but in the end they wanted to be close to their families, which Michigan cannot provide.  After those two, the free-agent pool drops off considerably.  We have money and we have needs, but is it smart to utilize that money in a poor free agent market in attempt to fill your needs with average players, or would it be better to put a bandage on all the wounds for now and wait until next year when more high profile players will be free to sign wherever they like?  Trades are always an option too, but when you need someone to replace Lidstrom, or some top-six sniper (in a dry free agent year no less), prices are going to be high.  Holland admitted he wants at least another player before he's comfortable with the team, but it's goIng to be a bandage, not a permanent fix to our roster issues.  This year can't provide us with a permanent fix.  That's just the reality of it.  Better luck next year.

Oh thank you for some sane voices on LGW....  I swear the level of doom and gloom is off the charts.  People are acting like the Wings are now Calgary or something.... not even close!

Sorry, but conceding another hockey season (Babs didn't think his roster last year was going to be able to compete) won't fly in this town. Not signing one of the top 5 talents in the league because "we don't like what we hear about him" is ok if your team already has a sniper or two. Well, we don't.

I understand being smart with your money, but when you straight up DON'T SPEND money you have, you are more or less throwing it away. We had $5 million in cap space last year that we didn't spend. Essentially, the Detroit Red Wings cap sat $5 million lower than the NHL cap. That makes no sense to me....

Yeah, risk bringing in a guy who has, by all accounts, a horrible attitude and questionable worth ethic.  Risk that because it's not your money, so let's just go on a spending frenzy and grab all the average players we can.  Holland is smart not to blow everything up by spending like a 16 year old girl the weekend before Prom.  Get a grip people, the sky is not falling.  The team, as is, will make the playoffs and will compete.  

Remember when everyone wrote Datsyuk off as a non-playoff contributor?  How did that turn out?

So does this mean EVERYONE has been overpriced for years now and that's why Kenny hasn't brought in anyone worth mentioning?  EVERYONE? Come now... (and your housing analogy sux).

esteef

You didn't answer the question.  And Ian White is not another tire patch... ridiculous.

I agree that Kronner will have a career year as well Smith.  I also feel that Quincey will have a much better year and look more like the Quincey of LA/Colorado point-wise.  I'm thinking 30-40 pts for Quincey. He'll be playing on the 2nd power play unit, maybe even the 1st from time to time.

Howard is nowhere near Quick

He also has a tendency to seem to get worse in the playoffs while Quick is a playoff monster...

You are basing this on one playoff run, from this past season.  Yes, he was phenomenal, but have you seen his stats the previous playoff runs that LA has had?

2010/11 : 2 Wins 4 Losses 3.16 GAA .913 SV%
2009/10 : 2 Wins 4 Losses 3.50 GAA .884 SV%

I am not saying Quick isn't a solid goaltender, he is, but to say Howard cannot play as well as Quick had this past post-season is a tad ridiculous.  Before Howard was injured in the reg season, he was on track to be, at least, a Vezina nominee....  I don't think we've seen the true measure of how well Howard can play in the post-season yet, just as prior to this season, the same could have been said for Quick.

I just feel that Smith is going to have a Calder-worthy season.  He is very good and there is plenty of opportunity for him to succeed and grow.  My prediction is he pots 43 pts.  Color me overly-positive, but that is what I believe.

I still don't understand the severity of people's fear for the upcoming season, given the roster we have now.  We have plenty of depth up front and I'd be surprised if we don't at least trade some players for picks, but more than likely for a defenseman.  I don't see our defense as being as bad as some crazies think it is.  Is it going to take a hit?  Yes, of course, but sometimes you need to have a little adversity to become a stronger team in the end, and that is what I believe you'll see with our present roster.  Our offense is just as good as last year and I believe will contend for top 3 this season.  We added some snarl and will have a little more grit to our game.  Having a healthy Helm back is huge, as is Eaves (if he doesn't get traded for another asset).  

I just think there is a lot of fear that is misappropriated.  We tried hard to get the top players this offseason, and it just didn't end up that way, but that is no reason to freak out or start calling for Holland's head.  I'm sure he's still working the phones.

Simmer down everyone!

Sammy's point totals since his first arrival in Detroit were:
45pts/71gms-DET - .63 ppg
34pts/53gms-DET - .64 ppg
40pts/73gms-DET - .55 ppg
53pts/74gms-VAN - .72 ppg
50pts/70gms-VAN - .71 ppg
31pts/54gms-VAN/FLA - .57 ppg

If we have Sammy putting up an average of .60 ppg and playing a far superior 2-way game to Hudler and getting 5-10 less points I'd take him any day of the week.  Add Tootoo who had 30 points in 77 games getting garbage ice time on a team that sucks offensively at .38 ppg, i'd love that on the 3rd/4th lines along with the grit and intensity he brings.  Right there along with Brunner, our 2nd-4th lines have been upgraded.  The only thing we didn't get was an elite offensive talent, but we didn't lose that either and what left, has been replaced.  The biggest blow is that we lost Lidstrom and since then it's been all doom and gloom here.

No matter what Kenny does this offseason, we still don't have Lidstrom to run the blue line, or Stuart to block shots more than anyone else and throw hits.

I can't wait for the season to start and for Nyquist and Brunner to start lighting the lamp and for Smith to be over .5 ppg in the top 4 instead of on the 3rd D pairing and making us forget that we lost Stuart to the Sharts.  If the season started tomorrow, and assuming Quincey is in the starting lineup, I'd be fine with what we have right now.  I'd like to add Vandermeer or Jurcina, but if our lineup looked like the folliwing when the puck dropped on the start of the season i'd be ok with it:

Mule-Dats-Nyquist
Brunner-Z-Flip
Sammy-Helm-Bert
Cleary-Abby-Tootoo
Mursak/Miller

Kronwall-Smith
Quincey-White
Ericsson-Kindl


Howard/Monster

I like that there's a lot of potential for a lot of guys to step up, and that the team is actually getting younger despite Z and Dats getting older.


Brunner looked pretty good playing on a heavy underdog Switzerland team at the world championships putitng up a point per game.

I think leaving Eaves out of the lineup is a mistake.... he was hurt last season so many people seem to forget that we have him.  He has a good speed, great defensive abilities, and can also pot us 15-20 goals with relatively low ice time.  I strongly believe Eaves is going to get a better look at things this season and be consistently in the lineup.... Oh, and he's a right handed shot.

Wasn't today the day (MON, 7/9) that Doan was supposed to start entertaining offers?

Yes, and his agent has opened up the bidding...  He still may stay in Phoenix.  Sounds like it may drag out, possibly.

Hopefully what Khan says about his agent contacting us several times prior to now means that Doan is seriously considering us as his destination after Phoenix...  Makes sense since we beat down on Phx consistently in the playoffs and Doan has lived with that, why not go to that team that you could never beat in the playoffs?  

I hope he comes here and finishes out his career.  He'll look good on Datsyuk's or Zetterberg's wing.

Ericsson gets it bad from Wings' fans....  I believe mostly because he set such lofty expectations after he burst out in the 08/09 playoffs and then fizzled the following season.  The fact is, he has become a strong shut down penalty killer.  It's hard to believe and I had to see the stats to really believe it myself, but when he got hurt last season, our PK suffered.... he returned and all of a sudden our PK got better.  I don't believe he'll ever be valued higher than a 3/4 d-man, but I do believe he'll be a strong shut down defensemen with "some" offensive skill going forward.  He just never had much of a chance.  I say if we don't get any significant defensive help this offseason, we put Ericsson on the second PP and see what he can do.  It can't hurt, and the opportunity is there.

We still have 17 mil in cap space and we have a seriously weak team. I guess it's time to let the youngsters sink or swim. Bring up Nyquist, give more time to Mursak, maybe even bring up Tatar. Who knows, perhaps it could be a good thing.

Uhh... offense is not a problem, at this point.  Defense is where we need to worry.  We have, what? 15 forwards signed right now?  So Mursak and Tatar probably won't see any ice time with the big club.   More than likely, you'll see Tatar in a trade for something we need, defense.  

Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Filppula, Samuelsson, Brunner, Bertuzzi, Cleary, Helm, Eaves, Tootoo, Miller, Emmerton, Mursak, Nyquist....  We'll probably shed Emmerton and Mursak in a trade of some sort.  I say you trade Franzen and pieces for a need, sign Semin in Franzen's place...

Who knows..

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/

What a laughable ass headline that is.... hahaha

LOL!

So you expect us to give up table scraps for a perennial 30-40 goal scorer and Anaheim would just accept?

Try again.

Table scraps?  Stop talking.